Michael Werner Gallery, London is pleased to present Gaston Chaissac, an exhibition of paintings, drawings, and collages by 20th century French artist Gaston Chaissac (b. 1910 in Avallon, France, d. 1964 in La Roche-sur-Yon, France). The first major, comprehensive exhibition of Chaissac’s work in the U.K., it spans the entire length of Chaissac’s career from late 1930s until his death in 1964.
Born into a French rural working-class family, Chaissac was an autodidact. In the late 1930s, his neighbors in Paris, the artists Otto Freundlich and Jeanne Kosnick-Kloss, convinced him to become an artist and promoted his career. A decade later, Jean Dubuffet championed his work as Art Brut only to later exclude him from the Art Brut collection, saying that Chaissac had become “an educated man, in touch with cultivated circles...more or less a professional artist.”
Chaissac lived remotely in the coastal town of Vendée and cited unconventional influences, including prehistoric art and the art of children. At the same time, he was also extremely aware of contemporary ideas of abstraction, Cubism, and Surrealism and incorporated them into his work. He kept in touch with established critics, artists, and writers through extensive letter writing. In 1947, he wrote to Picasso, “more than ever, I’m a Picasso in clogs, Picasso’s student, student by correspondence course.”
Chaissac earned a remarkable amount of international recognition during his lifetime with exhibitions across Europe and the U.S. Artists such as Georg Baselitz have cited him as an influence. Today his work is held in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne; Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Abbaye Sainte-Croix, Les Sables-d’Olonne; Espace Chaissac, Sainte-Florence, Vendée; amongst others.
“Untitled”, 1960
India ink on paper
19 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches
49.5 x 64.5 cm
CHA 5
$22,000
“Bouquet de fleurs”, 1943-1944
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
25 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches
65 x 50 cm
CHA 6
$120,000
“Couple de personnages”, 1961
India ink, collage on paper
19 x 24 3/4 inches
48 x 63 cm
CHA 9
$25,000
“L'ami Michel”, 1961
Goauche on paper
24 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches
63 x 50 cm
CHA 11
$35,000
“Composition fond bleu nuit”, 1962-1963
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
39 x 25 1/4 inches
99 x 64 cm
CHA 15
$150,000
“Untitled (Personnage)”, 1948
Oil on wood
41 3/4 x 32 3/4 inches
106 x 83 cm
CHA 17
$150,000
“Untitled”, ca. 1962
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
39 1/4 x 25 1/2 inches
100 x 65 cm
CHA 20
$120,000
“Composition au personnage”, 1949-1950
Oil on paper mounted on board
24 3/4 x 18 1/2 inches
63 x 47 cm
CHA 22
$75,000
“Une histoire”, 1957
Mixed media, collage on paper
37 1/2 x 28 3/4 inches
95 x 73 cm
CHA 23
$130,000
“Untitled”, 1963
Oil on wood
39 1/4 x 28 1/4 inches
100 x 72 cm
CHA 26
$150,000
“Untitled”, 1962
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
39 1/4 x 25 1/4 inches
100 x 64 cm
CHA 27
$140,000
“Personnage”, 1943-1944
Oil on board
13 1/4 x 9 3/4 inches
33.5 x 25 cm
CHA 28
$45,000
“Composition”, 1947
India ink on paper
19 3/4 x 25 1/4 inches
50 x 64 cm
CHA 29
$30,000
“Composition abstraite”, 1963
Oil on wood
48 x 47 1/4 inches
122 x 120 cm
CHA 30
$150,000
“Composition lyrique”, 1964
Acrylic on board
36 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches
93 x 37.5 cm
CHA 34
$95,000
“Personnage et cheval”, 1959
Ripolin on paper mounted on canvas
37 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches
95.5 x 65 cm
CHA 43
$95,000
“Composition avec visage vert”, ca. 1962
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
39 1/4 x 25 1/2 inches
100 x 65 cm
CHA 44
$95,000
“Composition non-cernée”, 1964
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
39 1/2 x 26 inches
100.5 x 66 cm
CHA 48
$90,000
“Forme abstraite”, 1952
Pastel on cardboard
10 1/2 x 8 inches
27 x 20 cm
CHA 54
$18,000
“Le fumeur”, 1958
Gouache on paper
39 1/4 x 26 1/2 inches
99.5 x 67 cm
CHA 56
$28,000
“Grand visage”, 1962
Mixed media, collage on paper
26 1/2 x 19 inches
67 x 48 cm
CHA 62
$18,000
“Homme seul”, 1963
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
37 1/2 x 25 1/4 inches
95 x 64 cm
CHA 66
$150,000
